TWO YEAR OLD CHILD ESCAPED SPIRITUAL DEATH

Any baby that is born with defects, abnormality, deformation and other unusual physical characteristics are called spirits or human from the underworld in some parts of the North of Ghana.

Sometimes babies that cry at night are called witches, and spirits.

Many of this babies as early as a week to 1 month old are either giving concoctions by spiritualists to die or they are sent to the bush to be devour by wild animals. Some heads are knocking on trees to die and unfortunately they are not buried but either left or put on rivers scate their spirits.

But for a two year old girl Ndila Solomon have to escape this spiritual death unfortunately organized by her own mother.

Ndila, the girl has to flee with her father to seek refuge at the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) office in Yendi.

Killing of abnormal babies have been an ancient practice in the north of Ghana that sent hundreds of innocent babies to the under world. The killings of alleged spiritual babies are still practice in some parts of the north especially in the remote areas but for the timely intervention of Solomon Unikple, Ndila’s father, she will have been sacrifice by now.

Ndila and her parents, Solomon and Yaawa live together in Namoni, a Konkomba community in the Yendi Municipality, but Ndila for two years cannot walk thus her crime to be sacrifice to the underworld.

According to the father, her daughter for not been able to walk, his wife Yaawa has been pestering him to allow spiritualist kill their baby.

He said, the wife insist that her daughter is not a human being and therefore should be sacrifice to the underworld but he (Solomon) refused because he is a Christian and Christians don’t believe in killings of innocent souls.

So this resulted in a strong argument between him and the wife. His wife, Yaawa after the argument handed the baby to him and run to her parents place in a near by village and vowed never to return to her matrimonial home until the father (Solomon) gave their baby out for the sacrifice.

Mr. Solomon revealed that, since the baby was born two years ago she has never been to the hospital, “Anytime my daughter is sick and I ask my wife to take her to the clinic she will say our daughter is not a human being and therefore will not take her to the hospital”, he added

He hinted that, some family members and some section of the community in Namoni are in support of the wife’s decision of sending little Ndila to the underworld.

Mr. Solomon said, her daughter life is as stake, “I cannot go back to village because they will kill my daughter, I fear for my daughter’s life”

He therefore called on the Social Welfare, NGO’s and other benevolent organization to adopt his daughter, “I want social welfare to help me adopt my baby”.

The Yendi Municipal Director of CHRAJ, Mr. Abass Yakubu said, the commission will do all it can to help the victim to have a decent life.

He noted that, the child rights have been infringe upon and therefore necessary steps will be taken to ensure that the child I safe.

Mr. Abass said, the mother of the child will face the full rigors of the law, saying, there is a criminal aspects of the case which will dealt with.

Currently, the child is under the custody of the Human Rights and Administrative Justice office in Yendi waiting to be taken in by the Socio Welfare Department.